Woman takes stolen iPod back from man who posted it on Craigslist

JANESVILLE—When she found out her husband's iPod had been stolen from their car on Janesville's south side overnight Tuesday, Jaymi Bohat checked Craigslist.

Sure enough, there in the “for sale” section was an iPod with the same description as Brad Bohat's—posted in Janesville at 6:14 that morning.

“We thought the chances of an iPod going for sale and ours being missing within a few hours were pretty much in our favor,” Jaymi Bohat said.

By the end of the day, the Bohats had their iPod back, and the man police said tried to sell it was in custody.

The Craigslist ad listed the seller's phone number, so Jaymi Bohat started texting him, asking questions about the device and playing along like an interested customer. She eventually arranged a meeting.

When she met with 19-year-old Brandon Geddes outside his home on North Oakhill Avenue, Bohat said she found her husband's name listed under the iPod's settings and knew for sure it was his.

Claiming she needed more time to think, Bohat went back to her car and called the police.

As she waited for an officer, Bohat said she noticed Geddes acting strangely, so she went back and asked to see the device again. When he handed it over, Bohat told him it was her iPod.

“Now I'm going to take it back from you,” she said.

Police soon got to Geddes' home and arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property.

Bohat, who had been taking photos the entire time, posted one to the image-sharing site Instagram of Geddes being led away in handcuffs. She tagged it “#toofunny.”

“I thought, honestly, 'How dumb can you be?'” Bohat said.

Electronics such as iPods or GPS systems are common targets for thieves who break into cars, police Lt. Rick Larson said. While it's frustrating for owners who have their things stolen, the cases can be tough to solve, he said.

“Usually, there's no leads,” Larson said. “People wake up in the morning; they go out to their car; they notice someone has rummaged through … With no leads, it's difficult to come up with suspects.”

And while Bohat's personal sting operation led to Geddes' arrest, Larson said police don't usually recommend people put themselves in that situation.

“I would rather get a call and have an officer deal with that, just for safety reasons,” he said.